Percutaneous transluminal catheterization procedures such as angioplasty, stent implantation, stent-graft implantation, and other prosthesis implantations require minimally invasive access to a patient's vasculature. Generally access is into an artery such as the common femoral artery using the Seldinger technique. A guide catheter is then advanced over a guidewire to a desired site in the vasculature near a treatment site. Procedural devices may then be advanced through the guide catheter to the treatment site.
The process for gaining repeated access to the vessel can include several steps with a hollow needle, medical guidewires, guidewire exchanges, introducer sheaths, and exchanges thereof. Such steps may cause trauma to the vessel. While using an introducer sheath typically reduces tissue damage from catheter exchanges therethrough, the sheath requires a larger puncture/access opening, which takes longer to close after the procedure. So-called “sheathless” procedures have been introduced which use smaller diameter introducer sheaths. However, sheaths are still used, which require additional exchanges and can cause trauma to the access site of the vessel.
Accordingly, there is a need for devices and methods for guide catheter access to a vessel which reduce the number of steps to access the vessel and reduce trauma to the vessel at the access site.